When we launched the Skritter iOS app in June, we wanted to be able to provide the same, simple subscription model in the App Store as we have on the web. Because of Apple’s policy to not allow auto-renewable subscriptions for services, we decided that we’d offer long-term Skritter subscriptions at a discount as part of a launch sale, offering up to 50% off for the longest (two-year) subscription. Tons of Skritterers have gone for this deal.
Sales don’t last forever, and this one is ending on Sunday, November 25. On the 25th, we’re going to start offering smaller long-term subscription discounts through the website and in the app, letting you use your preferred payment method and subscription length wherever you want, getting access to both the Flash version on the web and the iOS app in either case.
At the same time, we’re raising our base monthly subscription rate from $9.95 to $14.99 for new Skritter accounts. All Skritter accounts created before that time will keep the old $9.95 rate when paying through the website. Non-renewing monthly subscriptions in the iOS app will have the new $14.99 rate regardless of when you created your account.
We know no one likes to see higher prices, which is why we’re giving all the old Skritter accounts the original price. This isn’t going to expire or anything. We want to thank you for learning with Skritter and helping us make the best Chinese and Japanese character learning tool around. We’ve been making Skritter better and better at the same $9.95/mo since we first launched nearly four years ago. At this rate, you’ll study the next 180 million items in no time compared to these first 180 million.
Here are the new prices:
1 month: $14.99
6 months: $59.99 ($9.99/mo)
12 months: $99.99 ($8.33/mo)
24 months: $179.99 ($7.50/mo)
Apart from the launch sales ending, the only price increase will be for one-month iOS purchases and new Skritter accounts on the one-month subscriptions. And if you’re using the website and not the app, you’ll now have easy access to longer-term subscriptions that can save you some cash.
These price changes will take effect on November 25 when the launch sale ends and we release the updated Skritter iOS app, now with iPad and iPhone 5 support, improved stroke recognition, and advanced study mode (choose to study your starred words, one list, your choice of multiple lists, temporary styles and parts, and any combination of those). It’ll be the same app with the same one-week free trial for new accounts, but gorgeous on the iPad and with more prompt room on the iPhone 5 and iPod touch 5th gen.
If you want to grab a discount, you’ve still got another ten days to get the even-cheaper iOS app launch sale prices from within the app. And if you aren’t on iOS, if you have a currently active Skritter subscription on the site, just send us an email and we’ll hook you up through that credit card. PayPal? We can do that, too. We don’t want any of our long-time Skritterers to miss out on this. If you have friends who were thinking about signing up for Skritter, let them know that if they do it before the 25th, they can score the original subscription rate.
Thanks for your understanding on this one, and for all your support over the years. We’re cooking up a new example sentence system next, which we think you’re going to love.